In this project, we collaborated with SpreeAI to conceptualize and design a conversational user interface (CUI) that enhances their innovative AI-powered virtual try-on service.
While SpreeAI currently excels in providing photorealistic virtual try-ons for clothing, how can we expand the service beyond this core functionality? More broadly, how can we leverage technology to assist shoppers in their online journey, even when they are unsure of their specific needs or desires?
To address this challenge, we proposed creating MIRA, a conversational user interface that acts as a virtual smart stylist.
SpreeAI is shaping the future of shopping with its AI-powered photorealistic try-on technology. In just seconds, users can see how clothing would look on their own bodies, eliminating the guesswork in finding
the right size and fit.
Beyond personalization, SpreeAI embraces the shareable, social aspects of its platform, enhancing user engagement. As an emerging company in its early stages, it aims to establish itself while expanding its business-to-business operations.
Step 1.
Access the service
through third-party platforms
Step 2.
Takes their own photo
Step 3.
Views instant try-on result
MIRA is an AI-powered conversational assistant and personal stylist. With a quick onboarding process,
MIRA enhances your virtual try-on experience by using your own photo and customized presets.
No matter which MIRA personality you choose, it will perfectly curate your style,
saving you hours of shopping and reducing returns.
Based on the 'Alpha App Moderated Study' conducted by SpreeAI in August 2024, two major challenges emerged. First, users experienced difficulties during the photo capture process. Additionally, while users appreciated the try-on image, they expressed a desire for the ability to make their own adjustments to the photo.
Specifically, they had trouble knowing how far upright to place their phone, finding a suitable space where they could fit their whole body in frame, finding a clutter-free room with a light-colored background, and meeting the clothing requirements to take the photo.
Users often had to stand far back to capture the try-on photo, resulting in images that didn’t accurately frame their bodies. Additionally, there are situations where users are outdoors and unable to take a photo.
To create a more convenient online shopping experience using SpreeAI's virtual try-on service, we started by asking, "What do people find most challenging when buying clothes online?".
We conducted secondary research, investigating online styling service providers such as 'Stitch Fix', 'Indyx', and look through podcasts - 'The Clueless Closet'
Our research revealed that the primary challenge for online clothes shoppers isn't a lack of inspiration, but rather the difficulty of turning a vague idea into a concrete purchase. Even when shoppers have a general sense of what they're looking for, they often lack the guidance or assistance to realize their vision.
Style is inherently subjective and transformative. This inherent individuality makes it challenging for many people to define their own unique style, as it often evolves organically and is deeply personal.
We identified three major steps to using Spree AI's service: Introduction - Onboarding - Styling by CUI (Conversational User Interface)
Our goal was to unlock the full potential of CUI, not just as a virtual assistant helping users try on clothes,
but as a smart personal stylist, offering a human-like experience!
A majority of people—77%—are unwilling to pay for personal shopping or style advice
Get styling advice with MIRA, an AI-powered conversational interface from SpreeAI. This free online service helps you build your ideal wardrobe
SpreeAI identified that their users like the try-on feature,
but some improvements could be made
Experience a guided onboarding— through visuals and voice of MIRA, your virtual stylist
The average American spends an average of 8.1 hours a week shopping online
Collaborate with MIRA to build perfect outfits and save hours of shopping across different sites
Powered by SpreeAI's innovative technology, MIRA enables virtual try-ons and guides you in creating a personal style that reflects your lifestyle and preferences
Before concisely structuring MIRA, we created storyboard to get the gist of how it would live in digital world.
We began with a scenario in which a user interacts with MIRA on a third-party platform. After this experience, the user is invited to download SpreeAI's standalone mobile app to personalize her own MIRA with a unique personality.
We identified five key design principles in creating MIRA. Much like a human, MIRA has its own distinct personality—each version of MIRA with its own unique traits. This individuality is expressed through its movements and tone of voice during interactions. Users can easily select which MIRA they'd like to engage with, based on their preferences. While the core shape of MIRA remains consistent, it is also highly flexible and extensible, able to seamlessly integrate into various fashion platforms. Just like a chameleon, MIRA evolves its colors to align with the platform it’s on, enhancing its versatility.
While preserving MIRA’s core identity, we aimed to provide greater flexibility, recognizing that MIRA would appear across various fashion platforms. To achieve this, we kept the core figure intact and applied the platform's colors whenever MIRA is integrated within it.
To create a more human-like CUI, we developed three distinct personalities for MIRA:
Friendly, Edgy, and Classic.
When users log in to SpreeAI's potential mobile app, they can choose which MIRA personality they want to interact with. Each MIRA, with its unique personality, offers a distinct tone of voice, clothing suggestions, and subtle variations in movement.
The primary consideration in designing MIRA was its strong connection to SpreeAI’s existing identity.
We leveraged the original symbol, with its array of circles, to create MIRA, allowing for versatile movement.
By experimenting with various arrangements of circles to express flexible motion, we arrived at the simplest
yet most effective structure to represent MIRA’s identity.
We incorporated five symmetrical dots from SpreeAI’s original symbol and infused MIRA’s visual identity with its gradient colors. The five dots, with their concise yet solid structure, can express a variety of movement states.
MIRA has eight distinct states, each tailored to different occasions with unique motion expressions. Additionally, we created a diagram to illustrate how MIRA transitions between these states.
This project challenged me to rethink AI, not as a cold, impersonal technology, but as something capable of embodying personality and movement, much like a human being. I was fascinated by how subtle differences in movement could convey distinct characteristics. In some cases, these interactions proved even more effective and efficient than human interactions, actively addressing needs such as “finding a style,” “trying on clothes,” “managing wardrobe data,” and more.
The collaborative environment of this project also gave me the opportunity to experience various aspects of design, from research analysis and storyboarding to creating user journeys, developing conversational UIs, and producing videos. We employed a range of ideation methods, including storyboarding, user journey mapping, and sketching. Along the way, I deepened my proficiency with tools like After Effects, Premiere, and Figma.
